Trader who made $49 million shorting crypto lost $24 million on ether in 12 seconds

Ether surged sharply as a Hyperliquid trader known as pension-usdt.eth was forcibly liquidated out of a 50,000 ETH short position, losing nearly $24 million in just 12 seconds. The liquidation occurred in five forced sales and helped push ETH up $43 during the unwind, worsening execution for the remaining short. The trade erased about half of the wallet’s prior $49 million in short-selling profits and left the account nearly empty. The move unfolded amid a broader crypto squeeze, with $2.74 billion of shorts liquidated across the market in 24 hours as BTC approached $70,000 and ETH gained about 18% over the prior day.